Nwprovemcnt in  roofing material



FFICE.

CYRUS M, WARREN, 0F BROOKE-NE, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l'?,@30, dated July 11, 1876; application filed December 28, 1875.

provemeut is fully described in the following specification The object of my invention is to provide adurable but inexpensive material to interpose by alternate layers between the layers of slate,tile, or shingles in the construction of steep roofs, at a saving of cost, with better protection against Water and currents of air, and for other purposes.

My invention consists in a roofing felt or paper, produced by saturating felt or paper with tar, then applying to the same a sure facecoating of a sun-proof pitch or asphaltum, which is prepared as a residual product in the distillation of coal-tar at a-temperature of about 700 Fahrenheit, or at a point at which this residuum shall have acquired thenegative property of not softening or running on a steep surface when exposed to the' direct rays of the sun.

A native bitumen or asphaltum may be employedfor the sun-proof coating, either in its natural state or tempered by the removal or addition of oils, as may be required; but I prefer to use the material above described.

' In carrying outmy invention, take a good quality of felt or paper in rolls, and saturate thoroughly with tar, in the usual manner, as practiced in the manufacture of the ordinary tarred felt employed, in combination with soft pitch and gravel, for fiat roofs. When sufiiciently dried, the tarrcd felt is ready for the application of the preparation of sunproof pitch, which may be made to one or both surfaces; but I prefer to apply it to but one; and this is done by passing the tarred felt, as it is unrolled, over and in contact with the upper surface ot' a revolving horizontal cylinder, the lower surface of which is immersed in a tank ofthe melted and hot sunproof pitch. The surface ot' the tarred felt thus becomes roughly and thickly coated; but this is reduced to asmooth and even surface and to a desirable thickness, by passing the felt thence between two adjustable revolving press-cylinders, which are maintained at a suitable temperature by the introduction of steam to the interior. The sun-proof coated felt leaves the press-cylinders in a finished condition, and is immediately formed into rolls. of convenient size for use, the coating of sunproot' pitch or asphaltum being firmly combined with the felt or paper by the tar with which said paper or felt has been saturated, while, at the same time, this coating hardens quickly, so that the rolls can he formed immediately, without danger of getting the several layers stuck together.

That the .nature of my invention maybe more clearly defined,I would state that up to the present time only soft pitch has been employed to spread on the surface of tarred felt in the manufacture of roofs, arid its use, therefore, has been almost exclusively restricted to flat roofs, or those having bnta slight inclination; and, even as thus employed, it has been found an indispensable requisitethat the pitch should be filled with gravel, sand, asbestus, or equivalent material, to prevent its running into the gutters and ruining the roof. My invention provides, on the contrary, a tarred felt covered with a hard bituminous material of definite heat-resisting power, sufficient to overcome the necessity of using a filling of foreign material to prevent its running, thus rendering it serviceable for purposes for which the other is not adapted.

I am aware that it has been proposed to substitute melted pitch or asphaltum for coaltar as a saturating mat-erialfor roofing paper or felt, the melted pitch adhering to the surface being completely removed, while hot, by

passing the paperbetween scrapers; but this has not been found a useful substitute, and therefore has not come into use; nor is a paper or felt saturated with asphaltum in this manner, with the surface-coating of asphaltum purposely removed, to be regarded as in'any respect similar or equivalent to mine, saturated, as it is, with coal-tar-containing all of its natural softening-oils, and then purposely spread over with a layer of hard pitch of poculiar consistency,-made especially to resist a certain degree of heat.

I do not claim paper orfelt saturated either with coal-tar 01 asphaltum, nor paper or felt saturatd with aj'ther of these'and coated with ordinary pitch' or asphaltum.

A roofing material combosed of felt 51 paper saturated with tar, and provided with 'a surfhce-coating of sun-proof pitch or asphaltum, substantially as described.

In testimony that; I claim the foregoing I have hereunto. 'set my hand and seal this 15th day of December, 1875.

CYRUS M. WARREN. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

HERBERT M. WARREN, ALLEN LINCOLN. 

